Developing trust with colleagues online

In my experience, trust isn’t just given, it’s earned through consistent, intentional actions. Trust is the bedrock of any high-performing team, and without it, collaboration and innovation suffer. Here are some key behaviors that build trust in action: 📣 Deliver on Promises: Always follow through on your commitments. Reliability and consistency in meeting deadlines and fulfilling obligations show your team they can count on you. 📣 Communicate Transparently: Open and honest communication fosters trust. Share information freely, admit mistakes, and keep your team informed about changes and decisions. 📣 Show Empathy: Understand and respect your colleagues' perspectives and emotions. Being genuinely empathetic and supportive strengthens relationships and builds trust. 📣 Give Credit Where It’s Due: Recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of others. Acknowledging the hard work and successes of your team members builds a culture of trust and mutual respect. 📣 Be Authentic: Be yourself and show vulnerability. Authenticity helps others see you as trustworthy and relatable, fostering deeper connections. 📣 Listen Actively: Truly listen to what others have to say without interrupting or judging. Active listening demonstrates respect and shows that you value their input. 📣 Maintain Integrity: Always act ethically and stand by your principles, even when it’s difficult. Integrity is a cornerstone of trust. What behaviors have you found most effective in building trust within your team? Share your experiences and insights below! ---------- Hey, I'm Kevin, I am the founder of KEVRA: The Culture Company and provide daily posts and insights to help transform organizational culture and leadership. ➡️ Follow for more ♻️ Repost to share with others (or save for later) 🔗 Visit kevraconsulting.com to learn more

With the continuing discussions around remote work, let's talk about trust in distributed teams for this Tuesday Trust Take. The research may surprise you. While distance bias is a real thing, it's not the only thing--nor is it always about not being in the same office. As a leader, how can you effectively build trust when team members are remote or dispersed? Some thoughts from related studies:   - Employees' perception of empathy and fairness behaviors by the leader are a significant positive influence on trust levels in virtual teams. - Trust levels between virtual and in-person teams do not significantly vary. Leader visibility is the key. - Periodic check-ins are a crucial piece of visibility, but it's more than that. Interaction should prioritize relationship-building, finding common ground, and providing space to discuss challenges without judgment. - Similar to the first bullet point, compassion is a key behavior in conversation. - And don't forget to offer regular opportunities for social-only connection!   Thoughts from experience: - Empathy can sometimes feel like a tall task, especially when bringing together people from vastly different worlds or in high pressure times. Think of empathy in terms of perspective-taking and then tap into the feelings the employee is associating with the situation to help you better understand. - The above is that much easier if you've taken the time to find points of commonality with the team member (which also primes your brain to consider them in-group versus out-group). - If you're not already in the habit of responding "Yes, and" to team members' thoughts / ideas, practice until you are. - Tools that foster community and connection are a worthy investment. That said, even if you're limited, maximize use of what you have, especially when it comes to accessibility features.   What is your experience with leading distributed team members? What advice would you add?   #OrganizationalEffectiveness #OrganizationalCulture #WorkplaceTrust   The Tuesday Trust Take combines review of research related to trust and insights from my own experience of a couple decades in the People & Culture space. Follow me to stay updated on new posts and be sure to join in the conversation!

People often ask me for quick ways to build trust on a team. I have a dozen solid go-to moves, but one stands out because it’s dead simple and nearly always works. You’ve probably heard of the “connection before content” idea—starting meetings with a personal check-in to warm up the room. But let’s be honest: questions like “What’s your favorite color?” or “What five things would you bring on a deserted island?” don’t build trust. They just waste time. If you want a real trust-builder, here’s the question I use: “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?” That’s it. One question. And here’s why it works: 𝟭. It creates vulnerability without forcing it. You can’t answer this question without being a little real. And when someone’s real with you, it’s hard not to trust them more. You see the human behind the role. 𝟮. It unlocks practical support. Once I hear your challenge, I can picture how to help. I feel drawn to back you up. That’s the foundation of real partnership at work. 𝟯. It increases mutual understanding. Sometimes we feel disconnected from teammates because we don’t know what they actually do all day. When someone shares a challenge, it opens a window into their work and the complexity they’re navigating. If you’re short on time, allergic to fluff, and want something that actually bonds your team—this is your move. Ten minutes, and you’ll feel the shift."

Your colleagues are not your friends. Do your job. Get paid. Go home. I completely agree with this… If you want work to be a place of cold isolation that may eventually impact your wellbeing and productivity. Some of my oldest friends today, are people I worked with, from bosses to peers and even external collaborators (vendors & suppliers). And they made work better, happier, more engaging and satisfying for me. Humans by nature are communal creatures; we need to connect with others, feel part of the group. If you think about it, all the levels in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are essentially about human connection; physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualisation all require human connection with others. In the past it was easier to create friendships at work because you saw people and interacted with them daily. Today, with remote and hybrid work, it’s a little harder but still doable. Here are some tips on building relationships with colleagues even when you rarely see them physically: 📌 Make the Effort: If you want to build relationships at work, you have to be intentional about it; reach out, communicate, interact, participate. 📌 Offer Value & Build Trust: As selfish as this may sound, people gravitate towards those who add value to their lives. And since value is subjective, start by being generally optimistic, positive, friendly and willing to be helpful. Make sure to follow through on promises. Consistency and reliability are important for building trust 📌 Use the Tech: Most of today’s workplace interactions happen with the use of technology; emails, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc. Use them. Don’t wait for a time when you can interact physically. 📌 Communicate Effectively: Because it’s harder to connect virtually than physically for most people, you’ve got to communicate more often and leave no room for ambiguity as virtual communication can be open to interpretation (and misinterpretation). 📌 Virtual Socials: Don’t limit workplace interactions to work stuff. Share personal interests and hobbies to find mutual interests you can bond over. I love the idea of a pyjama coffee meeting or virtual lunches with colleagues. Who doesn’t relax while drinking a beverage? Or in PJs? 📌 Celebrate Colleagues: Celebrate your colleagues’ achievements or milestones, professional and personal. Even small gestures of recognition go a long way in relationship-building. Building relationships in a remote work environment requires being proactive, patient, and empathetic. By actively engaging with your colleagues using remote tools, and finding ways to connect beyond work stuff, you can create strong and lasting professional relationships, even when you rarely meet in person. Do you believe in work-friends? How do you build and maintain friendships with remote colleagues? #LinkedInNewsEurope

Trust doesn't come from your accomplishments. It comes from quiet moves like these: For years I thought I needed more experience, achievements, and wins to earn trust. But real trust isn't built through credentials. It's earned in small moments, consistent choices, and subtle behaviors that others notice - even when you think they don't. Here are 15 quiet moves that instantly build trust 👇🏼 1. You close open loops, catching details others miss ↳ Send 3-bullet wrap-ups after meetings. Reliability builds. 2. You name tension before it gets worse ↳ Name what you sense: "The energy feels different today" 3. You speak softly in tense moments ↳ Lower your tone slightly when making key points. Watch others lean in. 4. You stay calm when others panic, leading with stillness ↳ Take three slow breaths before responding. Let your calm spread. 5. You make space for quiet voices ↳ Ask "What perspective haven't we heard yet?", then wait. 6. You remember and reference what others share ↳ Keep a Key Details note for each relationship in your phone. 7. You replace "but" with "and" to keep doors open ↳ Practice "I hear you, and here's what's possible" 8. You show up early with presence and intention ↳ Close laptop, turn phone face down 2 minutes before others arrive. 9. You speak up for absent team members ↳ Start with "X made an important point about this last week" 10. You turn complaints into possibility ↳ Replace "That won't work" with "Let's experiment with..." 11. You build in space for what really matters ↳ Block 10 min buffers between meetings. Others will follow. 12. You keep small promises to build trust bit by bit ↳ Keep a "promises made" note in your phone. Track follow-through. 13. You protect everyone's time, not just your own ↳ End every meeting 5 minutes early. Set the standard. 14. You ask questions before jumping to fixes ↳ Lead with "What have you tried so far?" before suggesting solutions. 15. You share credit for wins and own responsibility for misses ↳ Use "we" for successes, "I" for challenges. Watch trust grow. Your presence speaks louder than your resume. Trust is earned in these quiet moments. Which move will you practice first? Share below 👇🏼 -- ♻️ Repost to help your network build authentic trust without the struggle 🔔 Follow me Dr. Carolyn Frost for more strategies on leading with quiet impact

How can someone effectively manage remote employees? People struggle with this. I have worked with remote employees for almost nine years. While they haven't always reported to me directly, in the case of accounting I worked with a team that was in the Philippines, and we worked well together. Currently my two team members reside in Brazil while I reside in the United States. We have worked together for a little more than a year now and have only met in person once. I generally don't like to brag, but we work very well together. Why? I'm glad you asked, 😁 My plan is to put this together in a book that I am writing in a more comprehensive format, but I would like to share tips with my followers before I publish. Building trust is one of the important portions of this. Here are a few keys to building trust, especially when working with a culture that is different than your own. 1. Learn about the other culture. Not everyone does the same things as you, and don't receive many things the same way. Feedback, work instructions, language differences. Make sure that you take the time to learn about the other culture so you know how to communicate. 2. Regular communication. Speak to your employees on a regular basis. And don't make the tone of checking over their back. Set goals and milestones. You don't know what that person is doing while they are supposed to be working. And it shouldn't matter if they are accomplishing the goals and objectives you have set. 3. Be realistic. In the day of working from home people are worried that others will be distracted. I work in an office three days a week. I have conversations that are distracting from my work, it doesn't matter where you are, this happens. 4. Set expectations. The key is not to set goals necessarily but to effect a person habits. If you work to be on the same page, and you have an understanding of the direction you are working towards it will greatly improve your working relationship, even though you are not in the same building. 5. Make time. While you cannot always immediately respond, if the person has a question for you, make it a priority to answer those questions. If you are a person that does not look at the email regularly, make sure you let your team know. This will train them to contact you. And if they aren't afraid to talk to you, this will improve teamwork. What are some tips you have with leading remotely? Share in the comments so that we can continue dialogue to become more effective leaders! 😁 #ServantLeadership #RemoteWork #trust

After working through a particularly challenging project with tight deadlines and a lot of moving parts, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much trust really matters in our work. Trust is the foundation of strong relationships, and without it, things don’t move forward as smoothly. Whether you're aligning with clients, collaborating with colleagues, or leading a team, trust is essential. 1️⃣ Consistency Matters By delivering on what we promise and meeting expectations consistently, we build a foundation where everyone knows they can rely on each other. 2️⃣ Transparency Builds Confidence Keeping everyone in the loop—whether it’s about timelines, challenges, or changes—helps make sure we’re all aligned and working toward the same goals. 3️⃣ Empathy Strengthens Collaboration Taking the time to really listen and understand what clients and colleagues need creates stronger, more productive relationships. 4️⃣ Leading by Example Sets the Tone By being accountable and acting with integrity, we encourage others to do the same, building a more collaborative and supportive environment. 5️⃣ Acknowledging Mistakes Fosters Trust Embracing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, and acknowledging when things don’t go as planned, allows us to build stronger, more resilient relationships. Building trust isn’t something that happens overnight—it’s an ongoing process where every interaction contributes to a positive, productive environment. Whether it’s through follow-through, open communication, showing empathy, or acknowledging mistakes along with a growth mindset, each step helps strengthen our relationships. #LeadershipDevelopment #ClientRelations #TrustBuilding #Teamwork #Collaboration #Empathy #GrowthMindset